Difference between revisions of "Miskito/Grammar"
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The plural marker is "nani". To make a noun plural, "nani" should be used after the noun. If there is an article, it will follow the noun and the plural. For example, | The plural marker is "nani". To make a noun plural, "nani" should be used after the noun. If there is an article, it will follow the noun and the plural. For example, | ||
| − | * {{morphTest|aras{{tag|n}}{{tag|pl}}{{tag| | + | * {{morphTest|aras{{tag|n}}{{tag|pl}}{{tag|def}}|aras nani ba}} : the horses |
| − | * {{morphTest|ilili{{tag|n}}{{tag|pl}}{{tag|det}}|ilili nani ba}} | + | * {{morphTest|ilili{{tag|n}}{{tag|pl}}{{tag|det}}|ilili nani ba}} |
* {{morphTest|luhpia{{tag|n}}{{tag|pl}}{{tag|det}}|luhpia nani ba}} | * {{morphTest|luhpia{{tag|n}}{{tag|pl}}{{tag|det}}|luhpia nani ba}} | ||
Revision as of 15:44, 5 March 2021
Contents
Parts of Speech
Nouns
Determiners/Articles
In Miskito, the determiner follows the noun rather than precedes it like in English. In Miskito, ba and na are used as articles interchangeably depending on the proximity of the noun. "Na" is used if the noun is closeby. For example,
- aras<n><sg><def><dst> ↔ aras ba : if the horse is distant, or
- aras<n><sg><def><prx> ↔ aras na : if the horse is nearby (proximate).
Additionally, kum (a), kum kum (some), and ap (some) are used as articles in the exact same way. For instance,
- aras<n><sg><ind> ↔ aras ap : some horse.
aras ap → aras<n>(<sg>)<ind>
aras ba → aras<n>(<sg>)<def><dst>
Plural
The plural marker is "nani". To make a noun plural, "nani" should be used after the noun. If there is an article, it will follow the noun and the plural. For example,
- aras<n><pl><def> ↔ aras nani ba : the horses
- ilili<n><pl><det> ↔ ilili nani ba
- luhpia<n><pl><det> ↔ luhpia nani ba
Gender
Gender should be placed directly after the noun. If there is an article, it will follow the noun and gender. "waitna" is used for male, "mairin" is used for female, and "wainhka" is used for male (animal). For example,
- aras<n><f><det> ↔ aras mairin ba
- aras<n><m><det> ↔ aras wainhka ba
- tuktan<n><m><det> ↔ tuktan waitna ba
Plural and Gender
In the case both plural and gender are used, the sequence is noun followed by gender followed by plural followed by determiner. For example,
- bip<n><f><pl><det> ↔ bip mairin nani ba
- aras<n><m><pl><det> ↔ aras wainhka nani ba
- tuktan<n><m><pl><det> ↔ tuktan waitna nani ba
Miskito Past Tense
Verbs in Miskito should be tagged <v>. The person tags needed will be <p1>, <p2>, <p3>.
Simple Past
The simple past tense of verbs is formed by combining a verb stem with a set of endings. The set of endings used depends on the ending of the verb stem: either a consonant or the vowels «i» or «u».
«prukaia» (to hit) with the stem «pruk»- ends in a consonant:
- prukaia<v><past><p1> ↔ prukri
- prukaia<v><past><p2> ↔ prukram
- prukaia<v><past><p3> ↔ prukan
«diaia» (to drink) with the stem «di»- ends in a vowel «i»:
- diaia<v><past><p1> ↔ diri
- diaia<v><past><p2> ↔ diram
- diaia<v><past><p3> ↔ din
«buaia» (to rise/get up) with the stem «bu»- ends in a vowel «u»:
- buaia<v><past><p1> ↔ buri
- buaia<v><past><p2> ↔ buram
- buaia<v><past><p3> ↔ buan
